


Fly me to the Moon

by creature_in_a_mask



Category: Phantom - Susan Kay, Phantom of the Opera (2004), Phantom of the Opera - Lloyd Webber, Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: ALW needs a tag, Above Christine, F/M, For a Friend, Gen, Imagery, Phantom of the Opera - Freeform, Remake, Slow Burn, Suggestive Themes, Susan Kay, Yes it's a thing, angst needs a tag, but some real, creatures in masks, crossover fic, imagine, lightsabers and swords, megrik, metaphorical bs, passionate times, sorry no smut, subtle hints, untag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-07-02 17:36:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15801366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/creature_in_a_mask/pseuds/creature_in_a_mask
Summary: Born on the desert planet of Jakku, Erik, a boy with a severe facial deformity, tries to grapple with his powers in the force. Choosing not to align himself with any pre-established order, he must navigate his way through friendships, romance, and rivalries in a cold and unfeeling galaxy. Follow Erik’s thrilling journey from childhood to adulthood as he embarks on the ultimate quest for his place in the universe. Is there someone out there waiting for him, or is Erik truly meant to live in solitude?





	Fly me to the Moon

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This is actually written by a friend unable to post on an account of her own. This is the retelling of a classic Phantom of the Operaverse novel, Phantom, by Susan Kay, set in the Star Wars universe where altered OC's form relationships with each other, and ultimately lasting ones with Erik. It won’t follow every plot-point of the Kay novel, so it will still be interesting to those who have read it already. Hope you enjoy the first chapter!

Part I: Artemis 

 

In order for the light to shine so brightly, darkness must be present -Francis Bacon

 

It was dark, the night he was born. I don’t mean dark, just like any old night. Rather, a darkness which the universe has never seen before and will probably never see again. It was so black; black, beyond all possible understanding. A blackness that one must see in order to truly understand its true intensity, its true power.  
He was not like most children. He never was. Not a single cry escaped his lips when he was born. Upon a single glance at him, the midwife, Meena, covered her mouth in shock and backed into a corner. I turned to Janna, the young girl that Meena had selected to assist her during my labor. In the soft glow of the candle, I could see that her mousy face was ghostly pale.  
“What is it?” I asked, my voice filled with indignation. Upon receiving no response, I grew yet more agitated. “Oh, for kriff’s sake, will you tell me what the bloody hell is going on!” I commanded, raising my voice. At that moment I assumed the child was dead, but as I would soon come to realise, it was far, far worse than that.  
“In all my years, I’ve never-” Meena began timidly, “H-how could the gods create such a creature?”  
“Oh, what’s the matter?” I said. I attempted to sound collected and authoritative, but the quiver in my voice betrayed my fear and anticipation. “Show it to me.” I waited, but Meena made no move to leave her position, as if afraid that some terrible beast was waiting for her and would rip her limb from limb if she took even a single step closer.  
With an irritated sigh, I sat up from my position on the bed. Though my body was still tired and sore from labor, I leaned over to take a look at the unseen horror. If neither Meena nor Janna was willing to show him to me, I would have to take matters into my own hands. Looking for myself, I gathered, no matter how dreadful the scene before me would be better than remaining unaware; better than being left waiting in this darkness. I was wrong. Before I looked, the darkness imprisoned me. Afterwards, it stifled me.  
“Perhaps we should get him a blanket,” Janna said quietly. I realized that this was the first time she had spoken throughout this entire ordeal.  
Janna slowly made her way over to the pile of cloth in the back corner of the room and retrieved a small red blanket with which to cover him. After doing so, she stood over him, her bony shoulders hunched.  
Everything about Janna was thin. From her skeletal frame to her wispy blonde hair. Even her voice was thin. It was completely lacking in resonance and contained next to no change in pitch or intonation, and it was so soft that is was barely audible.  
“We should leave, now,” said Meena. She looked at me. “Artemis, I’m afraid that I won’t… I mean, I can’t…” her voice trailed off. I could tell she was searching for words.  
“You won’t be coming back here. It that what you mean? You don’t want to be anywhere near that- that thing. You don’t want to be associated with a woman like me, a woman who gives birth to a kriffing monster,” I said coldly. Meena opened her mouth like she was going to say something, but shut it. “Go,” I said, both as a command and a pleading request.  
Without another word, Meena left my measly dwelling and Janna followed closely in her suit, leaving me alone; alone with the darkness. It was then that I realized that their presence was the only thing that was able to keep the darkness somewhat at bay. Now that they were gone, now that I was alone with it, it consumed me. It ate up my entire being. Over the years I had grown accustomed to being alone and had even come to enjoy it, but now I wished for nothing but the company of another living thing. My breathing was heavy and labored, and my whole body was covered in a thing layer of sweat. The thin grey tunic I wore clung to my flesh.  
The darkness was so great that it had not only removed all light, but all sound as well. All sound that is, except my breath. I could no longer hear the Jakku desert winds that I had become so accustomed to in the stillness of the night. Only my shallow, labored breaths. I sat frozen on my bed, unable to move. Just when this became so unbearable that I considered ending my life by not breathing, it began to cry.  
Oh, that cry! I did not think it possible for any living thing to produce such a sound. It wasn’t that shrill, ear-splitting shriek associated with newborns. It was… otherworldly. There was something hidden beneath the cry, something dark and mysterious. Something beautiful. I couldn’t bring to mind any words that would be appropriate for describing such a sound. Perhaps this was because of my very limited education, but I had a strong feeling that there were no words in the entire galaxy that could possibly give that cry an adequate description. It is simply something that one must hear for themself in order to possess a true understanding of its dark essence.  
I could not explain it, but something in the power of his voice filled me with an overwhelming desire to hold him close to me. As if in a trance, I reached out and held the child to my bosom. I stared down at his horribly twisted face. Gods! Never had I seen anything like it! Through his face I could see every detail of his skull, which was covered only by a thin, pinkish membrane. I could see pulsing blue and yellow veins bulging out beneath his thin epidermis. He had brown eyes, like his father did if my memory serves me properly; dreadful, sunken in brown eyes and malformed lips. The most disturbing thing I can recall was his nose, or rather, lack thereof. In its place were two deep nasal cavities that I could only assumed he used for breathing. I soon regained my senses and flung him across the room and curled up like a frightened child on my bed. He had mercy on me that night and cried no more.  
___

The following morning I had only a hazy recollection of the events that had transpired the previous night. I must have fallen asleep, as the next thing I remember it was daylight and someone was knocking on my door. At first I believed that in my half-awake state I had merely imagined it, for the only visitors I received were my customers. It was not customary, to say in the least, for people to make social visits to a woman of my lot. The knock came again.  
“Come in!” I said groggily, for I had not locked the door when Janna and Meena had left.  
Was it a customer that I had somehow forgotten about? If so I would have had to send him on his way and let him keep his money. I was in no position to offer my services at the moment.  
“Good morning Artemis,” said a weak, timid voice.  
I turned in the direction of the sound. Why, it was none other than Janna!  
“Why have you come?” was all I could manage to say.  
“I got some things for you at the market. I thought that maybe they’d be of some help to you,” she replied, setting the basket in her arms onto the bed.  
I sat up. “What things?” I asked warily.  
“Oh, some bread, some milk for the baby,” she said.  
It was then that I remembered that it had been two days since I had last eaten, and I was quite hungry. Forgetting all my manners, I greedily ripped off a piece from the bread loaf and began to devour it like an animal. The bread tasted stale and was as hard as a rock, but I was much too hungry to care. After I had satisfied my appetite I realized that Janna was still present and I had conducted myself quite rudely.  
“Thanks,” I muttered.  
“You’re very welcome, Artemis,” she replied. “I should be going. My brother will be wondering about me.”  
I nodded, and after emptying its contents onto the bed, Janna picked up her basket and left without another word.  
___  
Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light  
-Helen Keller  
For the next several days I was a perfect invalid, confined to my bed, leaving only when the child was hungry or when matters of self-care required my attention. I was completely and utterly reliant on Janna’s charity, and I honestly believe that if it weren’t for her, I would have simply remained lying in bed leaving myself and the child to starve. Before I would have sooner died than allowed myself to be taken care of, but since the dreadful day of his birth I had seemingly lost all sense of pride and dignity.  
“You know, Artemis, you really shouldn’t stay in the same clothes for so long. Here, I got you a dress,” she said one day.  
To my embarrassment, I realized that I had gone nearly four days without changing clothes.  
“It may not fit you perfectly,” Janna continued, “but it was the best that I could afford.”  
She laid the dress out on my bed. It was sack-like in shape and woven from a coarse brown material. It wasn’t very pleasant looking, but no less so than any of my other clothes.  
“Why are you doing this?” I asked suddenly. “Haven’t you heard all they say about me. If they see you spending so much time at my place then they would surely believe that you are a woman of the same occupation as me.”  
“I’ve never much cared for idle gossip,” she responded. She tucked a strand of her thin, sandy blonde hair behind her ear. “Anyways, have you decided on a name for the boy?”  
“No,” I said sullenly. I had been avoiding that dreaded ordeal for as long as possible. If I didn’t assign him a name, perhaps I could still pretend that things were normal. It would be almost as if I didn’t give birth to a monster.  
“You ought to name him by now, you know,” she said. “It’s been several days since his birth.”  
“Well then for kriff’s sake, why don’t you name him?!” I said, harsher than I had intended.  
Janna’s mousy brown eyes darted around the room with discomfort upon hearing the expletive.  
“Well then…” she said deliberately, taking the child into her arms. “I think we’ll call you… Erik, after my late father.”  
So Erik he became.  
___  
E


End file.
